Evangeline
by crazychika03
Summary: HIATUS TIL FURTHER NOTICE continuation of "Tennessee's Lil Bit" the past behind them, Tennessee is now working to take Lil Bit somewhere safe and to gain full custody of her, but that means going to her God-Mother, Evangeline Du'Mage. But the more he gets to know her, the more and more he falls in love with her and soon he learns of a very deeply guarded secret about the lil lady
1. Prolog

_Prolog_

It'd been a few weeks and we'd finally managed to make it back to Arizona. I rushed back into the safe house with Lil Bit in my arms quick as I could! I knew this was stupid! It was even stupider of me to bring Bit back with me! I never could listen to somebody... Especially when it came to my baby girl. But after what we'd just been through, I wasn't gonna chance it!

It took us a while... But we'd finally managed to out run the law and make it back safely to the safe house.

...

_The second we'd pulled into the station the law was already there waitin for us! Blast! How'd they know we were here?! _

_"Give it up Cooper! We've got you surrounded!" hollered the sheriff, I looked around scared tryin to figure out how we were gonna get outta this one! I was trying my __**BEST **__to keep a brave face in front of Gracie... But when you're surrounded by the law with almost no hope of escape...It's hard, then my nightmare continued to get worse. _

_One of the deputies had come up and tried to take Gracie with him.. She clung to me tight her grip getting stronger with each tug from the deputy. "C'mon sweetie you're gonna come with away from this nasty ol' outlaw." he said, but she kept resisitin! "You're hurtin me stop! Lemme go! DADDY!" she cried out, he suddenly let her go and she fell on her lil ringtail, and ran hugging me; I knelt down and held her close as I looked around I noticed they were all stunned - I guess an outlaw having a child was a bit of shock to them - So I took that as an opportunity to escape as I grabbed up Grace and made a run for it! _

_..._

I knew it would probably be a day or two before they'd catch up to us... So for now we were safe, "Daddy... I'm scared. I don't want them to get us.." she said, I felt bad for her; those dang sheriffs rattled her cage pretty good. I knelt down and held her close, I rocked her and stroked her hair and she snuggled and buried her face into my chest.

"Je suis fatiguée papa..." I didn't quiet understand what she said but I figured it had to do with her being tired. "Then why don't you go to sleep then baby girl.

"Chanter pour moi papa... s'il vous plait?"

I chuckled, she rarely spoke french to me, so I wonder what gives with all this french now? Oh well, what she ask me to do again, chanter?

"Why would you want me to tell you some creepy chant?" I asked her, she just chuckled. "No papa! I asked if you could sing to me...could you sing to me please?" she asked beaming up at me, so I put her head under mine and we got situated all nice and comfy and I sang her a lil lullaby like I always did.

"Hush-a-bye, don't you cry

Go to sleepy little baby.

When you wake, you shall have

all the pretty lil horses.

Blacks n Bays

Dabbles 'n grays

Go to sleepy you little baby..."

Her eyes started to droop and she got good 'n sleepy, I sat n rubbed her ears stroked her hair and nuzzled her head. My baby girl, my heart she's my everything!

Funny how all this started 'cause some lil rag-doll nibbler kit needed money and now... I got this same lil chickabiddy nibbler in my lap singing' her sleep songs.

"Hush-a-bye don't you cry

Go to sleepy little baby.

Hush-a-bye don't you cry

Go to sleepy little baby.

When you wake, you shall have

All the pretty lil horses

Way down yonder, down in the medow

There's a poor wee lamby

The bees and butterflies picking at it's eyes..."

"_choke! cough! _Daddy stop please...I don't like that song, it makes me sad." she said, I could tell by the look on her face from all the cryin' she'd been doin' and along with all the excitement from today that was pretty white-eyed, and I was pretty exhausted myself. "Alright then sweetie let's get on 'n get to bed." and with that I totted ourselves off to bed.

...

_"This where he lives?" _

_"Yeah, I think so." _

_"Alright, let's go." _

My ears flickered and my eyes flew open! Oh great! I didn't think the law would catch me this fast! I barely had anything packed for us, so I threw on my cloths, packed the thevious racconous in a bag and grabbed up Lil Bit and we made run out the back. I knew there was a set of tracks and after living here long enough, I'd managed to figure out when the trains pulled around.

_"Hey there he goes!" _

_"After him!" _

No! I wasn't gonna let them take me back to jail and sure as my heart was still beatin I was NOT gonna let them take Gracie from me... I was **_NOT_** about to lose her, not again! "Papa what's goin on?!" Gracie said comin to, goodness I done forgot how this kid could sleep through a twister. "Nothin sweetheart, try 'n go back to sleep!"

"Papa the law done found us didn't they?" she asked scared and frantic, I didn't have much time to answer as we ran from these varmints! As we ran around tryin to find an empty car for us to hide in, I could feel them closing in. "_I think I saw them go this way!"_ I heard them say, granted they sounded pretty far off but I wasn't gonna risk it! I found the closest near by car and we hoped in hiding in some hay.

"_Daddy."_

_"Ssshh its okay its okay, just be quiet."_ I whispered, we watched as the cattle rustlers wondered around looking for us, I could feel Gracie crawl underneath me as I wrapped my arms around her tightly, ready to shoot. "Well I could'a swore..."

"Lisa! How could you lose them like that?"

Wait... I knew that voice! I knew that voice! It couldn't be?!... Could it? "Evangeline I'm sorry! The ol'boy was slicker then a newt!" said the cat girl, "Lisa! ... I outta.. _sigh, _look we know where he's going right? Well, we'll just catch up with them then... I just wish I could've talked to him 'bout gettin Gracie back, I sure do miss my baby girl..." she said, I stood there trying to gather my thoughts and figure something out. "T'auntie Eva!" came a shout from beneath me. Then I realized Lil Bit was about to take after her aunt, but I clutched her before she could get away, which was a good thing because just as she was about to jump off the train it began to take off.

"Evangeline!" I called out, her mouth fell open and her eyes flew wide open in shock, "Tennessee, Gracie!" she said as she raced after the train. "T'auntie Eva!" she cried out reaching out for Evangeline. "Gracie baby girl, Tennessee, ya'll gotta jump!" she said runnin outta breath as she tried her best to keep up with the train, I watched looking down at the ground as it flew by, fear gripped us both. "C'mon jump!" she hollered out again, "We can't Eva! The train's movin too fast!" I hollered back to her, she stopped and watched her broken hearted as the train picked up speed and got away from her. "_I gotta stop meetin your god-mama like this..." _I muttered unintentionally, great! Just flippin great! The one person I needed to talk to and she was disappearin back behind me...

"T'aunt Eva..." she said her heart breaking, "Daddy I miss t'aunt." she said, I stroked her back and pulled into my lap and snuggled getting back to sleep.

_... _

It was early morning and I was still awake, I plopped my head on the hay pile in the train and continually stroked Gracie's back. _Sigh _I wish I could've had the courage to jump off of the train and go be with her... I'm not sure what it is but, there's something bout that feisty lil gal that gets my heart goin, Eva I mean, my daughter's been through enough in her young life. More then any six-year old should've been...

My baby girl deserves the world and the more I thought about it, the more I thought of Eva... The more I thought my baby girl needed a womanly role model... And Eva was perfect!

I think my plans may have just changed.


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter One: BON-JON _**_(Bonjour)_**

I walked with Gracie on my back as we trekked through the swamp, _"This is just great!" _I thought to myself. Why didn't I just ask for a swamp guide?! Oh right, CAUSE I'M STUPID! Uugg, this was certainly NOT one of my better ideas.

"Oof!"

"EAH!"

We both screamed as we tripped over a log, I pushed myself up with my hands, both of us coated in mud and nasty slimy water! YUK! I don't know how people LIVE here! "Pppff thhhppfff, daddy! I wanna go home!" Gracie complained, I sighed just as tired and annoyed as she was; things were good while she was asleep, but whenever she was awake she was just like every other lil kid on a long trip! Always askin '_Are we there yet?' ' I'm board!' 'I wanna get off!'_

I swear! I thought I was gonna tear my hair out listenin to her grip and complain ... But I couldn't blame her, like I said, I was just as tired and cranky as she was! Then I heard something that made my guts hurt! We both turned to see who... or _what _it was that was behind us! I stood up slowly with my girl on my back clutching her ankles tight and she bout chocked me clingin to my neck! I heard growling behind me, we watched as the log behind us started to move and its eyes... _EYES?! _I-I've never known logs to have eyes! Oohh boy, now we're in for it! "Daddy what is that?!" she asked clinging to my neck nearly choking me, "Baby girl... I think that's a gator!" I said, she buried her face into my back scared of what was about to happen next; this is just great! Just as I was about to get my life together and start a little family it was about to end! I looked away and closed my eyes, we braced ourselves waiting for it all to end and then. We got water splashed on us, I turned to see what was going on and looked to see it was a little lady wrestling a big ol' gator! I dropped my jaw shocked! I couldn't believe it! A tiny lil coon woman like _THAT _fightin a big ol' gator! He had to be at least fifteen feet and 500 pounds!

I watched as she reached for her rifle and shot the beast in the head! It was all over after that, just gave us a look and the voice to match, "What are ya'll doin out here?" she said like we both crazy and she was aggravated. As I got a good look at her I realized who it was with her curly brown hair and grassy green eyes, "Eva?!" I muttered shocked it was her. Her face warm up and she smiled at us, "Well well well, lookie what the cat drug in, haha bout time ya'll got here." she said, suddenly she looked up at the settin sun, "C'mon we need'a get outta here, Lerro Swamp aint safe place to be when the sun goes down." she said as she helped me up, she looked over at my back glancing at Gracie. "Child what happen to your cloths?" she asked puzzled.

"Hehehe, that's my fault Eva, see we had to leave the safe house in a hurry and uuhh well I didn't get much of a chance to do anything..." I explained a little embarrassed, not a good thing on my part but I didn't realize that was her! Oh well, we're here now that's all that matters.

...

It was late when we had gotten back to Eva's house, I was surprised to see that... "Don't tell me you live in that lil shack?!" I asked her and my only response was a chuckle, "No no I don't live here, one of my friend's is outta town n I offered to house sit for her. I actually live in New Orleans, well actually I live just a lil outside of New Orleans." she explained, I watched as she scurried around fixin food and makin tea, she sure did look awful pretty in that dress she was wearing, so pretty n flowy. She sounds like she talking but what did she say?

"... Why don't you go wait in the bathroom sweetheart I'll be there in a second to fix you bath." she said, I snapped back and looked on at her stunned. WHOA! Bathroom... Fix..BATH!? "Whoa uuhh Evangeline I uhh..."  
"Okay t'auntie." and with that response, I just watched as Grace made her way into the bathroom, huh?! Wait ... what is goin on here? "Wait.. What is she..."  
"I told her I was gonna run her a bath." she said, I slide into my seat and pulled my hat over my face, this was going to be a very long month...

...

It was late, probably midnight as Eva and I sat up in the livin room. She sat knitting something and I was thinking, tryin to find a way to make conversation or at least just tryin to create some kind of sound to ward off the quiet. "Sooo... Evangeline, huh? What'cha makin there?" I asked her, and without missin a beat she kept knittin, "Well I'm croshaying a little sweater for a friend of mine, ya see she's having a baby here pretty soon so I've been trying to work on this for the last couple of weeks before she has her baby shower." she said, I just nodded. All this jabbering and nonsense had me board! I yawned exhausted, "I know its boring and that's not really what you wanna talk about... I know this isn't exactly something you'll wanna discuss either but it needs to be..." she said setting her needles down and trailing away looking at the sweater in her lap, I had a good feeling in the feeling of my stomach that the next subject was something would grab my attention and have me wide awake.

"Gracie..." I finished, she nodded with a 'need'a talk kind of expression. "Now look, I know you're kind of her foster father and I'm her god-mother but... I think it would be best if she were to come and live with family, my family."

When she said that my mouth fell open, Wha! I couldn't believe it! She was wanting to take AWAY my child?! MY child that I had come to love and know, this little girl that I have spent MONTHS with and took care and loved like my OWN child! ... And she just wants to rip her away from me?! Just like that?!

"Lookie here woman! I am _NOT_ just gonna let you take her from me! If anything... I was gonna ask if you could ... give me... C.. Custody of her."

She just looked at me, her eyes narrowed and her mouth was open a little bit; I knew she was angry with me but I couldn't understand why?! I took care of this for almost a year! She gave me an evil look, "She's not just your baby too Kid..." she told then she got up and walked away. "I get it... You don't wanna lose her! Neither do I!" I told her, but she just kept her back to me, not wanting to listen to me. "I love her too Eva!"

"Look!" she whipped around to look at me as she entered the room Lil Bit was sleepin in.

"T'auntie..." she mumbled, she barely lifted her head to see what was goin on; "The law didn't catch us again... Did it?" she asked, I laughed as I leaned against the frame of the door n watched as Eva sat next to her and stroked her head tellin her to go back to sleep and that it was nothin and with that she was out again.

"Come with me." she said, as we made our way outside.

She sat on the front steps of the porch, her head hung low and her fingers locked together, "Look Tennessee..." she started, "It's almost the holidays, and I know she'd want you around for that so, until Thanksgivin n Christmas is over... You and I will both take care of her. You two can stay at our mansion outside of New Orleans, mkay?" she suggested or rather she told me how it was going to go, "And what about after the holidays hhmm? What then?"

"Then we discuss who's gonna get her, but I'll tell ya now..." she stood up and stood right in my face, "Ya don't stand a chance, cause, and I know you never really thought it would, but your days as an outlaw are gonna come back to haunt you." she and with that she walked away back into the house, I watched as she walked back in... OOohh boy! I could tell this was gonna be one HECK of a fight! And I was gonna have to fight a fiery lil lady too boot!

Hopefully I can make this all work out...


End file.
